The camera interface on a smartphone is no less important than the quality of the camera itself. It is often what determines how fast one would be able to snap a photo in situations when timing is of importance. Having a wide array of camera settings to adjust is always an advantage, although a simple, yet intelligent camera app makes sense as well as it would be most suitable for casual users.

When it comes to boot times, the cameras on all four smartphones launch fast and can be triggered straight from their lock screens. Even the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom, which has to extend its optics first and then snap a photo, is about as fast as the Galaxy S4, the HTC One, or the iPhone 5.

Ergonomics is also among the factors that must be taken into account. With its thick sides, the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom is indeed comfortable to hold, be it in landscape or portrait mode. Thankfully, the software is smart enough to detect when your right thumb is resting on the screen or the capacitive buttons so these won't be activated accidentally by your tap. A standard threaded receptacle is available on the side for mounting the Galaxy S4 Zoom on a tripod. Another advantage that the handset offers is its 2-stage camera shutter key. Something that bothers us, however, is that the right microphone can be easily covered with a finger by accident.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom camera interface is extremely rich in features (for a smartphone, that is). A total of 26 scene modes are available, including Fireworks, HDR, Night, and Panorama. Some cool features are included as well, such as the Eraser mode, allowing one to take unwanted moving objects out of the frame after it has been captured, Animated Photo, which animates an area of the image selected by the user, and Best Photo, taking multiple image in quick succession, out of which the user can later pick the image they like the most.

The so-called Expert mode on the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom is for those who like to adjust all settings manually – a frustrating process when dealing with a touchscreen instead of actual buttons. Sharpness, contrast, saturation, and exposure can be adjusted from here, as well as the aperture size, ranging from F3.1 to F8.8 (F17.8 when at 10x zoom), the shutter speed, and the ISO.

The camera app interface of the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom

The camera app interface of the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom

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While it won't allow as much freedom when it comes to manual settings adjustment, the camera menu on the Samsung Galaxy S4 is still relatively rich in terms of features. There are lots of scenes and presets to pick from, and shortcuts to various camera settings can be set manually, depending on the user's preferences. The device itself is comfortable to hold while taking photos. There is no camera shutter key present, but the volume button can be set to act as one.

Samsung Galaxy S4 camera interface

The HTC One has a camera interface that is organized in an awkward manner. All settings are placed in the same list, meaning that sometimes one has to scroll a lot before they get to the adjustment they want to make. Thankfully, the most important settings, such as the scene mode and image resolution, are near the top of the list. A cool feature found on the HTC One is the ability to take 120fps slow-motion video. The handset itself isn't the most comfortable to hold so one must be cautious while shooting with it.

Camera interface of the HTC One

Last but not least, the iPhone 5 is the perfect device for casual users, with its simplistic UI that offers no advanced features, save for the built-in Panorama and HDR modes. However, that isn't necessarily a drawback as the interface is simple enough for anyone to quickly get the hang of it. You just take the smartphone out, point it at the object, and shoot! The camera is smart enough to take care of all the image setting adjustment for you. When it comes to ergonomics, the iPhone 5 is comfortable to hold while snapping photos, and its volume down key can be used as a shutter button.

i guess ZOOM pictures are slightly differnent from SGS4 , and with all that over sized body it have the pictues are worth nothing special if it hardly outperform other phones
its a FAIL camera with no advantage over other phones 10x zoom is no big revolution 1990s camera also have optical zooms

im not sure about you guys but if the phone i'm using is gonna be compared to camphone pretenders, im as hell would be ashamed of it. but once the phone im using is included in camphone comparison with the Lumia 1020, pv 808, I would be more than proud. Even the n8's camera capabilities would make this lot sweat. Hell, Im not even an android fan, but even sony's camphones are better the this whole lot and it wasn't even included? what's with this PA?

Why, PA? Why would you post an S4 Zoom camera comparison WHILE the Lumia 1020 is being announced? In a couple more days, you could have had a real comparison. God forbid we should let Nokia have its moment in the sun.

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